Chapter 199 Every Time You Lie, I Fall for It
Isabella stared at her. "I really owe you one, and whoever's backing you too. To come up with such a scheme against me, you must’ve lost sleep over this.”
“What are you even talking about?! I caught you red-handed making a mistake, and now you're trying to throw dirt on me? There's no 'backer.' This plan was so simple; I handled it all by myself!"
"So, it's all on you?"
Grace nodded confidently. "Yes!"
Suddenly, Isabella stepped forward, closed the distance between them, and without a word, she slapped Grace across the face.
The slap was fierce, turning Grace's head to the side, her hair obscuring most of her face as she staggered back a step.
"Who do you think you are?!" Isabella hissed. "Trying to play games with me?"
Grace started to respond, but Isabella raised her hand again, poised to silence her with another slap.
But Grace didn't flinch or shy away.
However, the second slap never landed.
Sebastian caught Isabella's wrist. "Is this enough for you, Isabella?"
His tone was even, but beneath that calm, there was an undercurrent of something formidable.
"She's plotting against me, against you!" Isabella looked at him with desperate eyes. "Sure, her plan is clever, but I can't believe you didn't see through it! She's being purposely transparent to... to set you up."
"But you went to see Marcus," Sebastian cut in, his face a mask of composure. "When I arrived, he was seriously injured, and there you were, clinging to him, crying out, your heart tearing apart."
"Marcus was stabbed; how could I remain calm?"
"When the ambulance arrived, you were ready to follow him to the hospital, completely ignoring... me standing right beside you."
Sebastian paused for a moment, a wry smile on his face, "I brought you back here, and you were out of it. After your bath, you crashed, and the first thing you did when you woke up was ask to see Marcus."
"Isabella, doesn't that tell you something?"
She looked up to meet his gaze. "Sebastian, you believe it, don't you?"
"How can I not?" He replied.
"I..." Isabella began, then closed her mouth, lowered her eyes, and took a deep breath before saying, "When someone wants you guilty, they'll find an excuse."
Grace was at the sideline, covering her face, crying as she spoke, "Yes, I did lead you to Marcus. But in the end, you did everything willingly, I can't control you. Your insistence to visit Marcus in the hospital—that has nothing to do with me."
"Shut up!" Isabella snapped viciously at her, "Grace, I'll remember this. You'll pay for this! Get out! Just get out of my sight!"
Grace lowered her hands, deliberately displaying the red marks of a slap on her cheek, "Even if someone is to be punished, it should be Sebastian's doing, not yours! You... you just watch out for yourself!"
Her words matched her usual spoiled and impetuous rich girl attitude.
"You think I won't rip your mouth out for that?" Isabella was livid; she couldn't accept being insulted silently. "Just you wait, Grace!"
If Sebastian weren't holding her wrist tightly, she would have definitely gone up and given Grace a piece of her mind!
That awful woman!
And Lynda, scheming to the core!
She hadn't shown her face from the start but was reaping the benefits!
If Grace succeeded, Lynda gained. If Grace failed, Lynda would step forward to plead with Sebastian, trying to bail herself out.
Either way, it was a win-win for them.
Grace shot back, "I've always disliked you, and I've been targeting you! If there's any punishment, I'll take it all. "
With that, she turned to Sebastian, "I... I should go. Call me anytime if you need me. I won't shirk my responsibility."
Isabella stomped her foot in frustration as she watched Grace sprint away. "How can we let her go just like that?! If we don't clear things up now, it will only get harder."
She tried to shake off Sebastian's grip to no avail.
"Grace is spouting nonsense; it's not at all like she says!" She insisted, "If you really buy into that, Sebastian, I'd lose respect for you!"
"Lose respect for me?"
"Yeah, it's all been a setup. Can't you see it? Even if she told you her plan, it's because she wanted to. You're usually so sharp—don't let Grace play you this time."
Sebastian looked at her with an icy stare, "I know what I'm dealing with better than you do."
A flicker of happiness crossed her face. "You get it? She hasn't fooled you? For real?"
But her joy was short-lived, crushed by Sebastian's next words.
"She confirmed my biggest suspicion," he closed in on her, his breath warm on her face, "I should be thanking Grace."
Isabella's fleeting joy vanished. "You... what?"
He spat out each word through clenched teeth, "Isabella, haven't I been good enough for you? Haven't I met your needs? Despite everything, your thoughts still wander to Marcus!"
In a flash of clarity, she realized.
It wasn't about whether Sebastian had seen through Grace's machinations.
It was about confirming that she and Marcus had an unresolved, lingering connection.
That alone was enough to infuriate Sebastian.
Desperate, she rushed to keep her appointment, worried about Marcus's injuries, willing to confront Sebastian just to see Marcus in the hospital...
All this only indirectly proved that she cared for Marcus! She was unwittingly aiding Grace's schemes!
"I didn't... I didn't..." Isabella shook her head in denial. "He got hurt because of me. How could I just ignore that? And after this, I won't see him ever again, never!"
Sebastian forcefully tilted her chin up. "Do I look like a fool to you? Huh? Every single time you've lied; I almost always believed you! Do you think it's because I'm truly foolish? No, it's me, Sebastian, willingly being deceived by you time and again!"
"I'm not lying to you; I won't see him anymore, I really..."
"Not see him? How can you not if you plan to leave me for him once the baby's born? Now you're just appeasing me, securing everything you want, and boosting your family's status. And then, you'll be with him, till death do you part!"
Sebastian rarely spoke so much.
He was the type to always choose brevity over verbosity.
But now, his tone was harsh, and his veins were bulging on his forehead; he was almost unrecognizable to Isabella.
"I've never thought about it like that... really," she answered, "And about the divorce, I've never held the power. If you want to leave, you'll leave. If you don't, there's nothing I can do but stay by your side."
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